SAN DIEGO — San Diego baseball (7-3, 0-0 WCC) completed a four-game sweep of UC San Diego (1-7, 0-0 Big West) on Sunday afternoon, taking down the Tritons by a score of 8-2 at Fowler Park.
The Toreros were able to overcome an early deficit for the second day in a row, again scoring in the game's later innings to secure a comfortable victory. After the Tritons plated an unearned run in the top of the first,
Paul Kunst tied the game at one and erased UCSD's advantage with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame, his fifth RBI in the last two days.
San Diego added another run in the fourth when
Adam Lopez sent an RBI double to the right-center field wall, earning his ninth RBI of the series.
Thomas Luevano and
Jack Costello teamed up to drive in two more that inning, pushing the score to 4-1 in favor of USD.
The Tritons got back another run — also unearned — in the fifth to creep within two of San Diego, but they would get no closer. Costello added some insurance with a double to left field that plated
Cody Jefferis, then Luevano delivered the most memorable moment of the afternoon with a well-struck home run that landed amongst the pine trees beyond the left field fence. The three-run shot earned Luevano his team-leading 14th, 15th, and 16th RBIs of the year, and gave the Toreros a six-run lead that they would not relinquish.
Lucas Braun began the game on the mound for USD, striking out the side in the top of the first in his lone inning of work.
He was relieved by senior left-hander
Grady Miller, who threw four innings of one-run ball and scattered four hits against four strikeouts and zero walks. Miller earned the win for Sunday afternoon's contest, evening his record at 1-1.
The Tritons threatened once more in the top of the sixth after advancing a runner to third via a single and a balk, but right-hander
Kieran Shaw entered out of the bullpen and was able to quell UCSD's final rally on just six pitches, notching a strikeout before getting out of the inning with a ground ball. The graduate transfer went on to pitch the game's final 3 2/3 innings, allowing no hits and no runs behind five total strikeouts to close out the 8-2 win for the Toreros.
San Diego baseball is back in action next Friday, March 12, for the first of a four-game set against UC Riverside that includes a Saturday doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
